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Australia's Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index saw a slight increase of 0.1% in February 2025, rising to 92.2 from 92.1 in January, signaling little change in consumer mood. Despite this modest rise, consumers remain cautious due to stretched household finances and ongoing cost-of-living challenges. However, there are signs of rising optimism about the future. The sub-index measuring ‘family finances compared to a year ago’ dropped 3.4% in February, falling to 75.1—down 10.6% from its December peak, but still up 18.9% compared to the low point in May of last year. Meanwhile, the sub-index for ‘finances in the next 12 months’ increased by 0.6%, reaching 105 and remaining in positive territory. This suggests that optimists continue to outnumber pessimists. Notably, the most significant improvement since last year has been observed among consumers with a mortgage, driven by better-than-expected inflation data and growing expectations of interest rate cuts.